Reports of CA Events 2012

May 16/17 2012 AC TournamentIn spite of the necessary three hour limit, with eight players playing five games over two days, only one game went to time. Brian Havill (18) was the star turn on Day One in warm and pleasant conditions, winning all three of his games quite emphatically.Day Two was cooler but stayed dry and by the final round three people were still in with a chance, having won three out of four matches played. Robin Barry (10) beat Quiller Barrett (9) +3 in a game that could have gone either way until the last turn. Mike Bowser (3 1/2) was beaten by Keith Rhodes (6) +3 despite taking an early lead.That left Keith and Robin with four out of five wins but, as they hadn’t played each other during the event, the decider came down to hoop difference with Keith just making it by +29 to +19. It’s a bit of an embarrassment winning in your home tournament, especially when you’re also the manager, but results were checked and adjudged fair and proper!Thanks to all who helped before and during the tournament and also to the groundteam for presenting the lawn in such magnificent condition once again.

John Skingsley won the Letchworth Golf Croquet Tournament at Letchworth Croquet Club 16 June 2012 Report by Ray MounfieldJohn Skingsley won the Letchworth GC Tournament. Nine players contested the one-day "B" level Golf Croquet Tournament held at Letchworth CC. With eight participants having a handicap of 2 and the other being a 3 there were many close matches and everyone won at least one game. The lawns were in excellent condition and quite fast, but gusting winds and intermittent light rain made play tricky at times. Andrew Gregory, more used to playing competitive AC, won his first four competitive GC games, but failed to build on this early success. After seven rounds of play John Skingsley and Peter Ross each had six wins, Peter having lost a game to John and John having lost to Christine Mounfield (the only lady player). Going into the final round either leader could have won the tournament but neither managed to secure a win, John losing to Mike Huxley and Peter to Christine. So John Skingsley, having beaten Peter, was awarded the Letchworth tankard and bottle of beer. All agreed that it was a good event which had attracted local players and some from further afield. It was particularly pleasing to see Derek Old and John Moore who had made the long journey from the North East.

May 21st 2012 GC Doubles Handicap

Report by Peter RossThe inaugural Letchworth GC Handicap Doubles was won by local pairing John Skingsley and Robert Staddon, in a close and fiercely fought final against Ray Mounfield (Ashby) and Susan Brooks (Letchworth).Twelve pairs entered the tournament, from clubs as far flung as Guildford & Godalming, Leighton-Linslade, and Ashby, as well as from the host club Letchworth. Our two lawns were in excellent condition, and the weather was dry if a little chilly.The schedule called for all-play-all (one 13-point game) within two blocks of six pairs, followed by a final. The block games were hard-fought: one-third of all games went to 76, and in only four games out of thirty did the winning margin exceed three hoops. As no-one was keen to impose time limits, this resulted in a long day before we resolved who would play in the final; but a day that was enjoyed by all.In the end, both blocks produced a clear winning pair, by margins of two games in Block A and one game in Block B. John Skingsley and Robert Staddon went through to the final against Ray Mounfield and Susan Brooks. This too was played as one-point game, with two extra turns being permitted to Susan. There was a great display of tactical awareness from both pairs, especially at the twelfth hoop. Needing to score in order to level the game, Ray and Susan tried to delay the run until they were able to set up a rush to the golden hoop. John and Robert recognised this and played to force their opponents to take the hoop before they could set the rush.The game went to six all, and after playing to the golden hoop Susan used her remaining extra turn to wire her ball from John's. By a quirk of the lawn, and much to Ray's dismay, John's ball skirted the hoop and then rolled to a blocking position. A lengthy tussle ensued, terminated only when Ray elected but failed to run the hoop rather than clear the opposition, who promptly seized the opportunity to claim the tournament.

Letchworth B Level Tournament 11th and 12th July 2012

Nine people entered the 2012 Letchworth B Level Tournament. It was very popular, and there was a waiting list of people who could not get in. Of the nine, three were Letchworth Members and six came from outside (Colchester, Northampton, Peterborough, Norwich, Wrest Park and two from Nottingham). The weather was mainly dry (we did have a few short, light showers), and a total of 23 matches were played over the two days. Both courts were being used virtually all the time. After the first day, there were four leaders. Nick Steiner (Colchester) and Peter Moore (Nottingham) had won all three of their games, and David Marsh (Wrest Park) and George Woolhouse had won two each. They played each other on the second day, and in the end, Peter Moore was the winner, not having lost a match (although he did win two of them plus one on time). One of those close games was when he beat Nick Steiner, who came second overall. The tournament was very relaxed and friendly, and there were many compliments about the quality of the lawns. Fortunately, two members of the Ground Team were there to hear the justified praise. The tournament was very successful, and everyone is looking forward to coming back next year (even those whose handicaps went up!) Full Results:

Peter Moore (2.5 to 2) 5/5 Nick Steiner (1 to 0.5) 4/5 David Marsh (2.5) 3/5 Terrey Sparks (1) 3/6 Clive Goode (3.5) 3/6 George Woolhouse (2) 2/5 Ian Mantle (1.5 to 2) 1/4 Neil Chalmers (7 to 8) 1/5 Nick Mounfield won the Letchworth Advanced weekend 18-19 August 2012By Nick Mounfield Nick Mounfield won the Letchworth Advanced weekend, with Lionel Tibble finishing second and Duncan Hector third.With the lawns playing at around 12.5-13 plummers and temperatures [reportedly] in excess of 30 degrees the conditions were extremely testing. So much so, that very few TPs were attempted and none completed. Staying on the lawn was challenge enough with plenty of interactivity and more than the usual number of games going to time (at least for a field comprising players in the 0.5 to -1.5 bracket). Going in to the final round both Lionel and Nick M had a 100% record, with Nick eventually winning through to take the Letchworth Challenge Cup. Duncan beat Nigel (+1 on time!) to take third place. Huge appreciation goes to the ground team (Keith Rhodes, George Woolhouse and David Mathews) for producing a fantastic playing surface and hoops, and to the caterers.Results: Nick Mounfield (-1.5) beat: Nick Steiner , Duncan Hector, Simon Hathrell, Nigel Polhill, Lionel Tibble Lionel Tibble (-1) beat: Cliff Jones, Nigel Polhill, Ian Parkinson, Duncan Hector Duncan Hector (-1) beat: Simon Hathrell, Nick Steiner, Nigel Polhill Nigel Polhill (-0.5) beat: Ian Parkinson, Cliff Jones Simon Hathrell (-0.5) beat: Nick Steiner, Ian Parkinson Cliff Jones (0) beat: Ian Parkinson, Simon Hathrell Nick Steiner (0.5) beat: Ian Parkinson, Cliff Jones Ian Parkinson (0) won the wooden spoon